Father pleads guilty in death of 5-year-old girl in Jackson Township

As part of the plea agreement, Liang Zhao will receive a 12-year prison term. He'll be formally sentenced once his wife's case is concluded..

Ed Balint CantonRep.com staff writer @ebalintREP

CANTON The father of a 5-year-old girl whose dead body was found in her family's Jackson Township restaurant pleaded guilty Monday to several charges and agreed to testify against his wife.

Liang Zhao, 34, admitted to obstructing justice, gross abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and two counts of endangering children as part of a plea agreement with county prosecutors.

In exchange for agreeing to testify against Mingming Chen at trial about her role in the death of their daughter, Ashley Zhao, a murder charge against Zhao was dismissed and he will be sentenced later to 12 years in prison. Zhao was facing 30 years to life in prison, the same as Chen, who is charged with murder and the other offenses.

Under state law, and based on the evidence, Stark County Prosecutor John D. Ferrero has said that the death penalty does not apply.

Zhao's trial had been scheduled to begin Monday with jury selection before Stark County Common Pleas Judge Chryssa Hartnett.

Under the plea agreement, Zhao will be formally sentenced once Chen's case is concluded. Hartnett told Zhao that under state law he's eligible to file for early release after serving six years of the sentence but said there was no guarantee it would be granted.

The plea agreement is contingent on Zhao's truthful testimony, Assistant Stark County Prosecutor Dennis Barr said during the hearing.

They lied to police

Jackson Township police have said Chen punched her daughter, Ashley, several times in the head, and that when Zhao found the child on the floor, he tried to clean her up before unsuccessfully attempting CPR. Police say the couple concealed the body somewhere inside their former restaurant, Ang's Asian Cuisine on Portage Street NW, before falsely reporting the girl as missing about 9:30 p.m. Jan. 9 from a back room at the restaurant.

Investigators were told the child had gone to nap about 4:30 p.m. and, when Chen checked on her about 9 p.m., the girl was missing. It prompted a sweeping search of the area. A day later, police found the body inside the restaurant and arrested the parents.

Where the body was hidden and other details of the murder haven't been released by investigators or county prosecutors.

Following Monday's hearing, Barr, the county's chief criminal prosecutor, declined to comment on details of the investigation, citing Chen's pending case and the future sentencing of Zhao. Defense attorneys Joseph Gorman and Eugene O'Byrne also declined to comment.

October trial

Zhao and Chen were indicted by a Stark County grand jury in March. The indictment alleges that Zhao and Chen "either acting as the principal offender or aiding and abetting another, did abuse Ashley Zhao." Court records also say that Chen and Zhao caused the death of the child "as a proximate result of committing or attempting to commit endangering children."

In June, Chen's attorney, Richard Drucker, requested that she receive a psychiatric evaluation. Hartnett granted the request for the evaluation regarding Chen's sanity and competency to stand trial, according to court records.

Drucker said he routinely requests a psychiatric evaluation for clients in murder cases. Drucker said the court filing does not mean he necessarily plans on pursuing a defense for his client of not guilty by reason of insanity. The attorney said in June that he was still gathering information and exploring options for potential defenses.

Chen's trial is set for Oct. 16.

In recent months, attorneys for both defendants have requested evidence in the case from the prosecution and discussed the issues during telephone-based pretrials and status conferences. Evidence requests have included photos and a 25-page report from the Stark County Coroner's Office.

Zhao and Chen have remained jailed during the case on a $5 million bond.

Reach Ed at 330-580-8315

and ed.balint@cantonrep.com

On Twitter @ebalintREP

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